UNGA 2026: Over 60% Of SDG Targets Off Track As World Leaders Meet To Confront Global Crises

As world leaders gather in New York for the high-level week of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, a fresh assessment has warned that 64 per cent of Sustainable Development Goal targets are either making only marginal progress or have regressed from their 2015 baseline.

The World Economic Forum, in a report ahead of the UNGA meetings, said only 36 per cent of the 139 SDG-related targets assessed were either on track or making moderate progress.

According to the Forum, 49 per cent of the targets are making only marginal progress, while another 15 per cent have regressed, leaving the world facing significant challenges less than five years before the 2030 deadline.

The Forum said “progress towards the SDGs remains significantly off track,” adding that accelerating implementation and financing had become a central challenge.

The assessment comes as the General Debate of the 81st session begins on September 22, with world leaders expected to address pressing global challenges under the theme, “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All.”

The World Economic Forum noted that geopolitical tensions, conflicts, development-financing pressures, rapid technological change and climate change are continuing to test international cooperation.

The UN agenda will include a high-level meeting on the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development on September 23, followed by discussions on sea-level rise on September 24 and pandemic prevention, preparedness and response on September 25.

A further high-level meeting on September 28 will mark the 25th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

The Forum also cited a 23.1 per cent real-terms decline in official development assistance in 2025, describing the fall as the largest annual decline on record, adding another layer of pressure to efforts to finance the SDGs.

The UN’s high-level week runs from September 18 to 28, bringing governments and other stakeholders together around collective action for peace, development and human rights.